Naomi's Sleepover
by Jan Monroe
Summary: Wildman comes down with a mysterous illness and someone has to take care of Naomi.


Naomi's Sleep Over Naomi's Sleep Over 

Summary: A mysterious illness put Wildman in sickbay. Someone has to take care of Naomi until mom gets better and Tom is selected. 

Warnings: The story has references to sexual frustration but nothing that your kids wouldn't see on the show. It also has references to illness and biological warfare but again nothing too intense.

If you want to use this story for anything besides your personal enjoyment, please E-mail me and ask. Thanks.

Disclaimer: The story is mine, the universe is Paramount. I just borrowed it for fun, not profit.

Notes: All the children's books titles in this story are real books and you should be able to find them in your local public library. The Burning zone is real but the medical text books are not as far as I know.

DAY 1

"Sickbay to Janeway," the Captain heard the doctor page.

"Janeway." She stated simply

"I have some very disturbing news, please turn to your Emergency medical channel."

"I can't, I'm in engineering, just tell me what the problem is."

"The three crew members that met the Doriaian have become ill from an unknown agent. I have not been able to identify what is making them ill. They are currently in isolation." The Doctor reported gravely.

"Who's ill?" The Captain asked.

"Ensign Wildman, Vorik and Myers."

"Do you have any idea how long they will be ill?"

"No and we have another problem." The doctor stated urgently. "Who's going to take care of Naomi? Her mother is not capable to make any decisions related to her care."

"I'll on my way to sickbay." The Captain stated. This was one of her worst fears. Who would take care of any children born on Voyager if their parents couldn't. 

***********

The doctor was working on the Ensign Vorik when the Captain walked in. The doctor looked up, "I'll be with you in a moment, captain." While he worked, she went over to where Samantha Wildmen laid. She was asleep. The doctor came over to the biobed and ran another scan.

"I don't know how to wake her. I have determined that this is a virus however, I still don't know the source or why it made them so sick so them so quickly." The doctor reported.

"When will you know?" the Captain asked.

"I have some tests that I have to conduct, I'll be able to tell you more in two hours." The doctor stated calmly.

"Do you know where is Naomi?" the Captain inquired.

"I believe that she went flying with Mr. Paris, at least that is what he said he was going to do this afternoon when he asked for the time off."

"Thank you, doctor. Do you need Paris help here?" 

"No, Miss Delaney has expressed an interest in training in medicine. I believe that I will ask for her assistance."

"Trial by Fire?"

"Yes. I believe if anyone can make it thought this kind of crisis they will have an excellent chance of completing the training course." The doctor stated without malice. 

"I'm going to go and talk to Mr. Paris about Naomi. Please contact me when you know anything." The captain requested as she left.

***********

Paris, Treasure Island 2 was playing on holodeck 1. The Captain entered, knowing what she would find. Tom and Naomi building sand castles.

Tom was talking about why the windows were so small. "... the windows are small because when people on earth built real castles, other people would come and want to take the castle way from them. The windows were small so that the bad guys couldn't shoot arrows into the castle." Tom explained. 

"Did other people build castles?" Naomi asked.

"Yes, almost all races have built castles. The designs of the castles are really different but the castle's job is the same. They were places to keep people, food and other stuff safe," Tom explained. As he finished talking, he heard someone clearing their throat. He looked up to see the Captain. "Would you like to join us?" he asked the Captain.

"No, I need to talk to you." She stated. 

"Okay." Tom started to stand. 

When Naomi started to get up to the Captain said, "Naomi why don't you keep building. We'll only be a few minutes."

Tom and the Captain walked out of her hearing range. She explained that Naomi's mom was too ill to take care for her. "We don't know how long this situation will persist. Who were you going to leave Naomi with after your time is up?"

"Her Mom. I can keep her until bedtime. That should give you time to find out who is Wildman's normal babysitters and get someone that can take her for the duration. I'll tell her that her mom is sick." 

"Very well. I'll try to have someone pick her up at 1930 tonight." The Captain stated and turned to leave.

Tom walked back over to Naomi, sat next to her and tried to started. "Honey . . . "

"Are the windows little enough?"

"The windows are great. I have some bad news. Your mom is sick right now. She's in sick bay." Tom told her

She crawled into his lap. "Mommy get better?"

"Yes, she will get better! Just for today you get to stay with me until bedtime." Tom told her, hoping that he was right and that Wildman actually did recover. Naomi smiled at him, trusting him totally to make her world right. 

They played in the sand until their holodeck time was up. "Lets go to my quarters and wash up for dinner and then go to the mess hall and eat." Tom suggested.

"Okay." She chirped as she skipped down the corridor.

Tom had forgotten how much work it was to wash a three-year face and hands. He called B'Elanna. 

"B'Elanna, are you free for dinner early?"

"Sorry, I can't leave until 1900." She stated

"I have to cancel than, I still have Naomi and we need to eat early so she can get to bed on time." Tom stated.

"I'll be free about 2000." 

"Great, the Captain said she would try to get someone to pick up Naomi at 1930." Tom confirmed their date.

Dinner was uneventful. Virtually uneatable but uneventful. No one once questioned Tom's role as sitter. Neelix fussed over Naomi like he did every night but smiled and waved when she left with Tom. He was beginning to worry. *Why were all these people assuming that I should be taking care of a child?* 

Naomi was happily coloring on the floor of his quarters when 1930 came and went with no relief sitter showing. At 1945 Tom called the Captain. "Paris to Janeway."

"Yes, Tom." She answered

"Whose supposed to take Naomi for the rest of the night?"

"Tom, you have no idea how difficult it is finding a competent sitter. You're it until tomorrow morning at 0730. Williams will take her from 0730 to 1200 and Stevenson will take her from 1300 to 1700."

"So I have her tonight." Tom realized. "Captain, I'm scheduled to be on the bridge at 0700 tomorrow morning."

"Don't worry about it. I'll have Chakotay cover the helm for the extra half hour." The Captain quickly covered her slip. She had worked for over an hour just to get sitters for the alpha shift tomorrow. Williams was willing to take Naomi full time but Williams was seven months pregnant. Much too advanced to work a full shift and then take care of someone else active three year old. The captain had counted her blessings and forget to check Paris' schedule. "Don't worry, it just overnight, You'll do fine. I've put Neelix on the babysitter situation, he should be able to find you some more help." The Captain told him, trying her best to reassure him.

"That solves tomorrow morning. Thanks Captain." Tom signed off.

While thinking about his fate. He would have to break the date with B'Elanna for tonight and tomorrow lunch. He had to take care of Naomi from 1200 to 1300, the lapsed time between the two sitters. While he was thinking about that another problem can to mind, Naomi's nightly bath.

He called B'Elanna in near panic and asked her to come to his quarters. 

"I need your help. I can't give her a bath." He pounced on her before she even got through the door. "I have her tonight. The Captain said that I could do it but I need help."

"It's just a bath, Tom. It's not a major emergency. Why can't you do it?" B'Elanna asked. She was willing to help Tom but was still unsure why he was having problems with a simple bath.

"I'm not her father." Tom answered, clearly embarrassed.

"I'll do it but you owe me for this." B'Elanna answered. "Where are you going to sleep tonight, in your quarters or in the Wildman's?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet," Tom looked down at the sleepy little girl and asked her, "Where do you want to stay here or home?"

"Here." She said.

"Why don't you go with aunt B'Elanna and take your bath and I'll go and get you some clean clothes." Tom requested. 

Each person intent on their task went in different directions. 

Tom quickly picked out a nightly and play clothes for Naomi. He went over to her bed and saw a well-loved teddy bear laying on her pillow. He packed the bear and the pillow with her clothes. When he returned to his quarters, he could hear them in the bathroom laughing and splashing.

"B'Elanna," he called, "I'm leaving her nightly on the bed."

"We'll find it." She called back. 

One problem solved, now the next one, where was Naomi going to sleep. He looked around the living area, trying to figure out where Naomi was going to sleep. He saw a large open area on the floor and smiled. He went his equipment storage area and pulled out his sleeping bag. He laid it on the floor and folded the foot under the top so that she would have more padding. He laid the pillow and teddy at the head of the bag.

He went over to his computer terminal, now, what story to read her. He went through the computer list of children's literature. Only two titles caught his attention, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and "There's No Such Place as Far Away." He transferred the stories to an empty padd so that he could take it over to Naomi's temporary bed. 

B'Elanna carried a very sleepy Naomi out of the sleeping area. "Where's her bed?" B'Elanna asked.

Tom walked over the sleeping bag, sat on the floor and unzipped the bag. B'Elanna handed Naomi down to him and he slipped her into bed. Naomi reached over, gabbed the teddy and sleepily demanded a goodnight kiss from Uncle Tommy. She was asleep before Tom even finished kissing her cheek. 

B'Elanna whispered, "I've got to go. I haven't even had dinner yet."

Tom walked her to the door and thoroughly kissed her before letting her leave.

Tom looked around his dimmed quarters and realized that it was only 2030 hours. He knew what he would be doing right now on most nights, hanging around with Harry playing pool but what to do tonight. He walked over to his desk and picked up the padd with "Gray's Human Anatomy and Physiology." The Holodoctor had been commenting on how little Tom know about human physiology. Well if his evening was going to be shot then he could get some work done, besides he was almost done with it. He went into his sleeping area to read one of the most boring books ever mass produced.

Day 2

Tom had ordered the alarm to go off at 0600. He was up and dressed before he woke Naomi at 0630. He had thought that an hour was more than enough time to dress one little girl, fold up her bedding, and get breakfast. He was wrong. They got to the mess hall at 0715. Tom barely had time to eat a piece of toast, at least it looked like toast, and drink a half of cup of Neelix's coffee substitute. It tasted just like his sister's coffee. She used real beans and still made it taste like a cross between tar and citric acid. A taste of home that he could have lived without.

Luckily, Williams showed at 0725 and Tom was on time for his shift on the bridge.

When he received Chakotay at the helm, Chakotay quipped, "Babysitting harder than you thought?"

"Yes," was Tom's only answer.

Lunch was easier than Tom thought it would be. He ate with Harry, B'Elanna and Naomi. Stevenson picked up Naomi at 1250 for an afternoon of fun. Stevenson had amazed Tom. She had asked if she could take Naomi swimming. As if Tom was Naomi parent, not just another babysitter. He approved the activity but the incident confused him.

The afternoon shift was uneventful for Tom at the helm. The Doctor had asked the Captain to come down to sick bay about 1500. When she returned, she called Tom into her ready room. 

"The doctor has informed me that Wildman will be in sickbay for at least 7 days." The Captain informed her Helmsman. "I thought that I should tell you as you can plan accordingly."

'Yes, Ma'am. Thank you for informing me." He replied. He was confused about what type of plans she thought that he was to be making. He had a date with B'Elanna at 1900 to watch the sun set from a Hawaiian mountain top on the holodeck. He didn't know who was taking Naomi tonight but she was going to be someone else responsibility.

"Dismissed." The captain ordered as she went to work reading the report about the mysterious illness.

Tom was relieved for the day at 1600. He went looking for Neelix. The mess hall was almost empty and Neelix was in the kitchen putting the final touches on dinner. 

"Who's taking Naomi tonight?" Tom asked.

"I must tell you, Tom, I had a very interesting conversation with the Doctor. He said just to get sitters for when you are to be on duty. I believe that he used the term . . . Let's see . . . 'Continuing emotional continuity.'" Neelix turned back to his cooking but then started again, "I was able to get Murphy to come to your quarters tomorrow morning at 0600 so you don't have to get Naomi up tomorrow morning. Murphy will keep her until 1300, when Nelson will take her until 1800."

"I have a date tonight." Tom stated

"Sorry, I'll try and get and evening sitter later this week. I'm sure that B'Elanna will understand." 

"Neelix, I've broken three dates in two days, even B'Elanna has her limits," Tom stated.

"Sorry, take Naomi with you." Neelix suggested.

Tom turned and left without responding. He had less than an hour to get to the gym and workout before picking up Naomi for the night. Working out on the treadmill was not his favorite exorcize but it was the only machine open to him. He would rather be rock climbing in the holodeck but he didn't have the time. The only good part he could see to having Naomi was that he wasn't losing replicator rations at pool and he wasn't using his holodeck time. 

His combadge chirped, "Torres to Paris."

"Paris here," Tom answered.

"I just had and interesting conversation with Neelix." She told Tom.

"Let me guess, he told you the news that I have Naomi until Wildman is well enough to take her back." 

"Yes, are we still on for tonight?" B'Elanna asked.

"The bed time rituals start at 1900 tonight." Tom answered.

"I'll be there." She signed off.

"Computer, What time is it?" Tom asked and he wiped the sweat from his face.

"The current time is 1645." Tom shuck his head in dismay. No time to shower before picking up Naomi. 

"Computer where is Naomi Wildman?" 

"LT. Tom Paris quarters." He stated to his quarters when his combadge chirped again. 

"Stevenson to Lieutenant Paris." Announced the combadge.

"Paris Here." 

"I have to leave a few minutes early, can you come home early?"

"On my way. By the way why are you in my quarters?" Tom asked.

"Naomi said this where she sleeps, do I brought her back here for her afternoon nap after our swim. She's been coloring since she woke up." Stevenson reported.

"Paris out." 

The scene that Tom found in his quarters was disturbing. Crayons, markers, and pencils littered his floor. Naomi was laying on his bedding and drawing on what looked like packing paper. Kuchens from the couch were on the floor with bedding off his bed, it looked remarkably like a fort. Dishes for an afternoon snack were on the floor in front of the replicator. In all the years that he had lived in these quarters, they had never been in such a state of disarray. Stevenson was setting in the one chair that was still intact reading a padd. When Naomi saw him, she lunched herself off the floor and straight into his arms. Stevenson quietly left while Tom was busy with Naomi. 

"Uncle Tommy, See what I made." She wiggled out of his arms and went to pick up a drawing. "I made this for Mommy."

Tom wasn't sure what the drawing was but he did what most parents do. He asked questions and praised the pretty picture. 

"We'll visit Mommy after Dinner and give her the picture." Tom told her. "We got another problems right now, we have to clean up the quarters right now."

"Why?"

"It's messy and you know that we have to put things back where they belong. First, I'll put the bedding back on my bed and you put the cushion onto the couch."

They worked together for the next half hour getting the quarters back into order. Tom knew that he could have done it in half the time alone but a perverted sense of justice in him said that she made the mess, she should have to work to clean it up. Sometimes making kids do the right thing was more work for parents than just doing it for them. 

Dinner was similar to the day before, fussing but no offers of help.

After Dinner, Tom took Naomi to visit her mother in sick bay. Although Naomi couldn't touch her Mom, Naomi was happy to see her. Tom and Naomi meet B'Elanna at the door to start the bed time rituals of a bath and stories. Tom used the stories that he had retrieved the night before. Miraculously, Naomi was in bad and asleep within a half hour. 

B'Elanna was about to leave when Tom asked her what she was doing at 0600 tomorrow morning.

"Nothing, getting ready for work," She answered. "Why?"

"The Morning sitter gets here at 0600, so can we get together then. I hate not being able to see you more, this is frustrating." 

"Poor Baby, I'll be in my quarters when you get free, maybe we'll have some breakfast. How does waffle sound?" 

"Great." Tom leaned down and started giving her a simple goodnight kiss but it got out of hand. They finally broke apart, both knowing that they couldn't do anything about it until the next morning. 

"Good night." B'Elanna said as she slipped out the door.

Tom spent the night reading his newest medical books, "The Burning Zone," and "Pharmacology, drugs and their healing prosperity." Tom was amazed when he looked at the clock next to his bed and found that he had finished the "Burning zone." In less than 2 hours. He stated on the drug book and read for another 4 hours. The book was actually interesting. Maybe medicine wasn't so bad as he had thought it was. All those tiny battles going on were very interesting. The idea that he could influence who won was an intriguing idea. Doctors as the great generals fighting a constant war against germs and injury.

Day 3

The sitter showed up on time and Tom could finally have sometime alone with B'Elanna. Breakfast was nice but the half hour they spent necking on her couch was much better. Tom and B'Elanna were both on time for their shifts, barely. 

"How's babysitting going?" asked Harry.

"Fine, but I'm starting to appreciate the difference between good sitters and an adult that is just there." Tom answered.

"There's a difference?"

"Yes, A good sitter would have had Naomi clean up the disaster area that she made of my quarters before I got back yesterday." 

The captain started giggling and most of the bridge crew shake with retrained laughter. It was widely known that Tom wasn't the neatest person on the ship and the idea that his quarters were too big a disaster area even for him was funny. The imagery of the Ships' playboy discussing the merits of different sitters was more than they could handle. Tom had settled down a lot since his relationship with B'Elanna had escalated but seeing Tom Paris as a parental figure was a stretch, even for the people that knew him well. 

The laughter stopped when the Doctor called the Captain. "When is the senior staff meeting today?"

"0900. Why?"

"I have some disturbing findings that I need to share with you and I will need Mr. Paris assistance for the remainder of the day." 

Janeway signed for Tom to leave. "Doctor, I want a full report at 0830." She ordered.

Tom arrived at sickbay to find the doctor still in conference with the captain and more distressing, not three sick people but seven. He quickly looked over the medical records while waiting for the Doctor and found that they all had the same illness. From the reading that he had been doing lately, he knew that this was not the normal course of infectious outbreaks. The first three cases showed up on the first day, then four more two days later. The virus was not air born so how could they all have had contact with the infectious agent.

The transports were support to filter out micro organisms and the filters usually did an excellent job. He wondered how this virus could be through the filters. The computer identified it as being similar to a whole class of virus that caused pledges in the alpha quadrant. It dawned on Tom that if it didn't go through the bio-filters. Tom followed his hunch that whatever was new in the storage bays. The only new inventory item in the storage bay was in newest supply of parts that Voyager had acquired from the Doriaian All the patients worked in Engineering or in the storage bay where they were currently stored. He found more than he had hoped and that only increased his uneasiness about the situation.

All the patients were in isolation due to the infectiveness of the virus. An alarm signed that the crewman in biobed two was in crisis. Tom yelled for the doctor and raced to the bed. Ensign Vorik was in respiratory distress. Tom quickly established respiratory support. The Doctor came over and administered three hyposprays of different medications. The crisis passed quickly but it suggested that the other patients would also go into crisis soon. This was a sure sign of a long day.

The Doctor sent Tom to the sensors staff meeting as the medical "Expert and chief infection illness investigator." Although the Doctor had the information, he had been too busy doing patient care and trying to find the actual virus that was causing the cases to be able to check the ship for possible contamination sites. The captain had the official medical report and Tom was just supposed to follow order. 

The captains opened the meeting "People, we are under attack. Someone has deliberately hidden a virus and placed it aboard Voyager." 

Tom signed the captain, "When I was in sickbay, I noticed that all the crewmen that were effected worked in engineering or storage bay "C". The inventory logs shows that only one new shipment has been received in the last two weeks and it is stored in Cargo bay "C." The power relays from the Doriaian. The parts are too sensitive to pass through the transporter so they neither they nor the packing material has been through our bio-filters. The doctor had put medical isolation around the containers as soon as we figured out that they could be the source of infection."

"What is the prognosis for those that are ill?" Tuvok asked.

"Vorik had a respiratory crisis, he's on respiratory support right now but we believe that he will recover. After his crisis, we evaluated the respiratory function of the others and we were able to intervene and prevent the others from progressing that far." Tom answered. Although medical ethics were specific about who could know about the medical conditions of patients, Tom knew that the medical symptoms were actually tactical data in this case. Starfleet had specific exception to Doctor patient confidentiality rules and this was one of the exemptions.

"Why would anyone use a virus?" Harry asked, not yet realizing that the situation had the ability for spinning out of control. 

"It's cheap and easy." Tuvok answered. At Harry's confused expression, Tuvok continued, "whoever created the virus intended it to debilitate the crew there for an easy target for attack. The aliens were likely hoping that the crew would be too sick to even attempt to resist."

"They were setting us up for a take over and using the virus to kill us off first, what do they think they'll get, salvage right?" Harry asked, finally understanding the full significant of the information that he was getting.

"That is an accurate assessment of the situation, Mr. Kim." Tovak stated.

"What is your next move, Tom?" B'Elanna asked.

"I'm going down to the storage bay and get samples of the shipment and confirm that is the source. If it is then I'll have to do a bio-hazardous cleaning. If I was the person that did the poisoning, I would put it in the packing materials, so that if we used any of the components they wouldn't level the virus on the ship. I hope so anyway, we can't afford to lose all the components." Tom answered.

"That sounds like a sound plan, how are you going about it?" The captain asked, she was worried that he might take unnecessary chances.

"I was planning to blow out the atmosphere in the storage bay and then using an environmental suit to collect samples. Don't worry captain, I don't plan on taking any risks." 

"Glad to hear it. B'Elanna, help Tom any way you can without going in with him. Harry and Tuvok prepare for whoever might be coming to claim their 'Salvage rights' Any other business we need to take care of?" No one responded, "Good, dismissed."

***********

Whenever Tom thought about what, he was doing, he became nervous. The book last night, "Burning Zone," was enough to scare anyone. The virus here was nothing like the one in the book but the thought that one wrong move can kill you and then your entire ship was chilling.

With B'Elanna's help, he was ready to go in less than an hour. The cargo bay was now a vacuum and he could flood the bay with whichever gas they had on hand that would kill the virus. But to find the virus so that they could be sure to get both samples and kill the rest was the tricky part. He seat up the tricorder to signal at the first sign of the virus.

He looked into the packing containers. The packaging was unusual. The parts were wrapped in a paper like material that had to be torn to get to the part, then the part was sealed in plastic. Tom carefully dropped and entire component with wrappings into one of the bio-isolation bins. He then tore the wrap off another component, the tricorder stated to signal viral contamination. He had little satisfaction that he was correct, the packaging was poisoned but He couldn't figure out if the component had been as well.

"B'Elanna, I've found the virus. I need to get the bio-isolation chamber to Med Lab. I know that the outer wrap is contaminated but I don't know if the inner wrap is. I'm coming out." Tom said. He placed the isolation chambers into a sealed pass thought into the cargo bay next door.

"What gas should I flood the bay with?"

"Nothing right now. I don't know if the components are contaminated, if they are than we'll have to dump them. I'll let you know as soon as doc figures out how far we need to go." Tom told her. 

"Paris to Transporter room one, ready for beam out."

********

Tom spent the rest of the day in Sickbay doing patient care. The Holodoctor spent the day in the bio-hazzard isolation lab. He emerged twice, once to check on Vorik and another time to reformulate the basic drug treatment. After the first dose of the new drug, the patients began to improve. Vorik even recovered enough to come off respiratory assistance.

"Doc," Tom called.

"Yes, Mr. Paris."

"I have to go and pickup Naomi. In ten minutes" Tom told him.

"When will you return?"

"Tonight?"

"Of course, We still have patients to care for. I have not been able to find a compound that will destroy the virus in the cargo bay. It appears to have been designed to be resist all common anti-viral agents." The holodoctor explained. If he was human, Tom would have said the doctor was frustrated. This job as an epidemiologist was not the doctor's favorite aspect of his work. "Very well, go but be back by 2030. I have experiments that I have to check then."

"Doc, I have to find a baby sister. I don't know if I can on this short of notice, not with most of the crew preparing for an attack." Tom told him.

"That is not my problem, It's your's." The doctor stated.

"Paris to Murphy" Tom called

"Murphy here."

"Can you keep Naomi tonight?"

"No, I go on duty at 1800."

"I'm coming to pick up Naomi, Where are you?"

"Your quarters." 

This was become disquieting. It seemed every babysitter on the ship was camping out in his quarters. It wasn't that he had anything that was embarrassing to own but so many people going through his quarters was strange. In some ways it felt like it did when he was a kid and his sisters used to come into his room without knocking, *my space is being invade and I can't do anything about it.* Amazingly, Naomi did not create the same sense of invasion as all those sitters. 

*********

"Neelix, I need a sitter for tonight. I have to be back in sickbay at 2030."

"Sorry, Tom. I can't get anyone this late, just call the doctor and tell him you can't make it."

"I can't do that, I'm the only one qualified to do the patient care unsupervised," Tom stated.

"Why don't you ask your friends?"

"I tried, they are all working on special projects to prepare for an attack." Tom stated. Then it dawned on him, Call Chakotay, he's in charge of the duty roster, He should know someone that could stay with Naomi.

"Paris to Chakotay,"

"This better be good Paris, I'm in the middle of a project." Chakotay answered.

"I need a sitter tonight."

"Why call me, Neelix is in charge of sitters."

"Yea, but he said that he can't get anyone this last and I have to be back in sickbay at 2030. This isn't a date, it work. So, who is off duty that could sit with Naomi for an hour while I help out the doctor."

"What does the sitter have to do?"

"Nothing, Naomi will be sleeping. Once she's down at night almost nothing will wake her up," Tom answered.

"I'll have someone there at 2020." Chakotay answered.

*********

B'Elanna used half of her dinner break to give Naomi her bath. She quickly kissed Tom on the cheek and raced back to Engineering. Naomi fell asleep half way through 'There's Monster at the end of this book.' All Tom could do was read his drug book and wait for the sitter. The door chimed the arrival of the sitter promptly at 2020. 

"Come in." Tom called as he looked up from his data padd. He was amazed at whom Chakotay had talked into sitting for him. Captain Janeway was standing in his doorway trying to balance as large stack of padds.

"Where is she?"

"Over in her bed," He pointed to her on the floor in the darkened corner.

"Why is she sleeping on the floor?"

"I was trying to make staying with me an adventure rather a time to worry about mom." Tom answered. "Make your self at home, I'll call if I'm going to be later than 2130. Thanks for doing this." He started for the door.

"Before you leave, why do you have Naomi?" The captain asked.

"The Doctor and Neelix decided that someone had to be a constant in her life right now and since I was the one who told her about her mom. I was the perfect person to keep her until she could go back home." Tom answered as he was going out the door.

The Captain smiled after he left. Imaging Tom Paris as so concerned about a child's mental health that he just accepted the responsibility without even a token protest was hard. She knew that Tom was a caring person that usually put others before himself but this was above and beyond what most officers were ever asked to do. She wondered if she should write him a letter of commendation for "Babysitting above and beyond the call of Duty" but the splendid medical investigation was likely to the focus of the letter.

*********

Tom had called the captain at 2100 to say that the doctor was close to a breakthrough and he would have to stay for a few more hours. Two hours soon turned into four, then more and at 0337 Tom finally returned to his quarters. The holodoctor had finally found the compound that could kill the virus in the cargo bay. While running the final tests, he also found a much more effective treatment for the patients. They were still very sick but all were improving quickly, It was a good nights work but 21 hour days had never been his idea of fun.

When He came into his quarters, he found the captain smuggled under a blanket on his couch. He quickly debated waking her but decided to let her sleep. He set the alarm for 0630 to be at the helm by 0730. Naomi was not a morning person and took a long time to get going in the morning.

Day 4

0600 had come and gone and the Captain had not shown for the early morning conference with Chakotay. 

*She probably over slept.* Chakotay mused. He wasn't really worried, the captain was usually on time but she may have forgotten to set her alarm after her evening of baby sitting and report reading. But the captain's quarters were empty.

"Computer, where is Captain Janeway?"

"Lt. Paris quarters."

Chakotay was puzzled by her location but continued onto Paris quarters. When he rang the bell, Naomi opened the door for him.

"Shhhh . . . They're sleeping." She said, giggling, as she let him in. The captain was sound asleep on the couch still holding a data padd and Paris was sprawled fully dressed asleep on his bed. 

"When did you get up?" 

"A few minutes ago, when Uncle Tommy usually gets up. I've been coloring." She stated, obviously pleased with herself for not waking up the grownups. She also had crayons and colored pencils scattered all over the living area. If this was a few minutes, he could well image why Paris was upset at how messy his quarters were yesterday morning, what could she do with a few hours?

"Why don't you pick up your coloring stuff and I'll wake up the captain."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes." Chakotay stated, he then turned his attention to the Captain. "Captain," he called but she didn't respond. He gently reached out and shook her awake. "Kathryn, Time to get up."

"What time is it?" she asked.

"0620" Chakotay answered as he watched Naomi picks up the floor.

"Our meeting, I'm sorry, I thought that Paris would wake up when he came in. I wonder when he did get in?" She explained. "Computer what time did Lieutenant Paris return to his quarters last night?"

"Lt. Paris entered his quarters at 0337"

"What time is his alarm set for?"

"0630"

"Cancel the alarm." Janeway commanded. The computer chirped it acknowledgment.

"Janeway to EMH." She called on her combadge.

"EMH here. Did Mr. Paris tell you the good news?"

"No, he let me sleep, What is the good news?"

"We worked late but were finally able to develop effective treatments for the crewmen and how to clean the cargo bay. I will need Mr. Paris assistance again today." The doctor reported.

"When did you send Mr. Paris back to his quarters last night?"

"Approximately 0326."

"Prepare your report for the morning staff meeting."

"When can I have Mr. Paris?"

"1200." The captain answered and signed off.

"Computer reset the alarm for 1100." The captain commanded, She turned to Naomi, "Where are your clothes?"

Naomi went to the bottom drawer of Tom's dresser and pulled out a pink sun suit. "Can I wear this today?"

"Sure, Lets get dressed quick and then Uncle Chakotay will take you to breakfast." The captain said. "Can you do it your self or do you need help?"

"I do it." Naomi declared proudly. She disappeared into the bathroom.

"I'm going back to my quarters to shower and change." The captain stated as she almost ran out the door. "Oh, leave Tom a note that he is off duty this morning and that he is to report to sickbay at 1200."

The note was the easiest part of the morning. Naomi took a half hour dressing herself. She also needed her hair brushed, shoes found and bedding put away. Forty-five minutes later they left for breakfast. Chakotay turned her over to her morning sitter with orders not to back to Paris quarters.

~~~~~~~

The mood of the morning meeting was that of relief. They know what they had to do and how to do it. The crewmen in sick bay were now recovering and the idea that whoever was attacking them had failed in their first assault bolstered their confidence.

The parts were salvageable. The decontamination process was scheduled to take two days. They had to be unwrapped from the outer wrapping and laid onto racks. The plastic inner layer had some contamination but the parts inside were clean. The unpopular job was done by two of the meticulous engineers on board. The suggestion that Tom should do it was quickly rejected. Both Harry and B'Elanna spoke out against the idea. They feared that Tom's track record as the most accident prone member of the crew would assure disaster for the second mission. The bay was to be flooded with a mixture of three different gases and left to set for twelve hours.

~~~~~~~

Tom was awakened by the alarm at 1100. He noticed a padd propped up in front of his clock. He picked up and read Chakotay's note. It was short and to the point, it dawned on Tom that he had no idea who was sitting for Naomi right now. Though he hated to admit to himself he as worried about it. He called down to B'Elanna to ask if she could eat early but she couldn't but she was off duty at 1700. He reserved the holodeck for 1800 to 2030. A nice seaside walk in the sunset and sand castle building sounded very relaxing.

Breakfast, really lunch, was a turquoise colored soup. It looked horrible but it was edible, almost. Neelix was full of news about the virus and the decontamination process. Tom just smiled, He had written the procedures at 0200, and was happy that he didn't have to be the guy doing the unwrapping. 

Naomi was spending the day with Jenny Delaney. Her pick up time today was 1800 at the Delaney's quarters. The sickbay shift went faster than he thought it would, with everyone getting better, they all had more demands and needs that he worked to meet. They were still contagious, and were unable to leave to medical quarantine. The best news was that Wildman was recovering quickly and was demanding to know every detail of Naomi's life since the day that she became ill. 

After an hour of constant questions, Tom finally exploded at her. "Naomi, has been fine. She has been worried about you. She sleeps on the floor in my sleeping bag. She has destroyed my quarters building forts and with her coloring supplies. I haven't gotten any bad reports back from the day baby sitters. I have no idea what she is wear today, I think the Captain got her up and dressed. They left me sleeping after my extremely late night. I haven't had a date in four days. Oh, and B'Elanna has been giving her nightly bath. She's fine, don't worry. If the Doctor said it ok, I'll bring her by during lunch tomorrow."

"Thanks for keeping her." Samantha replied. "I know that you would take good care of her." She changed her focus, "Doctor, when can Naomi come and visit?"

"Tomorrow, if you are feeling better."

Tom made several calls just before getting off duty. One to B'Elanna to meet him outside Holodeck 2 at 1810. Another to Neelix about a nice picnic basket for three. He picked up Naomi at Williams at 1800, raced to pick up the food and be on time to meet B'Elanna. He almost made it, only 3 minutes late. He ordered Paris treasure island two on the holodeck and they entered.

"Where are we going to eat dinner?" Tom asked

B'Elanna climbed a dune, at the top she looked at the panoramic view. "How about right here?"

Tom opened the basket and pulled out a blanket then proceeded to spread it over the sand. They set down and pulled out their dinner. Neelix had packed just what Tom had asked for, fruit juice, what passed for carrot sticks, and Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Not fancy but a dinner they all liked. 

Naomi finished eating first, "I done, can I go build a sand castle"

"Yes, but stay in sight and not to close to the water," Tom approved. She ran off.

"You seem to have this fatherhood stuff down pretty good." B'Elanna commented.

"I don't know just how well but I know that, after I got over the shock of having her all the time, I started enjoying it. I could live without the constant hassles of babysitters." Tom answered honestly.

B'Elanna stood up and held out a hand to him, "Lets go play in the sand."

The evening had become a little too intense for B'Elanna's comfort. Tom enjoying parenthood, even temporary, had serous implications to their relationship. They had not talked about children, but his attitude and apparent aptitude for the job of father was giving her ideas that she wasn't quite ready to act upon yet. They build sand castles and when Naomi started to drop off, Tom laid her on the blanket. After she was total asleep, he ordered up a beautiful sunset.

"Would you care to take a stroll with me?" He asked B'Elanna.

"I would love to but should we leave her alone?"

"We won't go far." Tom answered, "She usually don't wake up after she's gone to sleep. All this does is moves her bath from tonight to tomorrow morning."

B'Elanna took Tom hand and they enjoyed the sunset in each other company. 

After their holodeck time had expired, they parted company at his door. B'Elanna had changed the sleeping little girl into her nightly and then had left. Tom had to admit that this had been a nice evening, even taking Naomi with them. It wasn't his idea of a standard date but he took what he could get. He remembered an old joke about kids, "they're great, but hell on your love life." He was back to reading the pharmacology book.

Day 5

Tom knew that he had a morning shift on the bridge and an afternoon shift in sickbay. Although, he had been spending most of his time in sickbay than the bridge, he still considered himself a bridge officer.

He and Naomi followed their established routine, leaving Tom with time only for a piece of fruit for breakfast and bad coffee substitute. But luckily, it was just bad, not like the hideous brew of several days ago.

The morning meeting was short but sweet. The cargo bay was disinfected, everyone was recovering and none were contagious. Ensigns Wildman and Myers were due for release in two days. The entire senior staff looked at Tom when the doctor relayed this news. 

*What do they expect me to do, cheer and shout with joy?* Tom wondered. 

After the meeting, only the Captain and Chakotay remained in the conference room. "I thought that Tom would show some more emotion about losing Naomi. Getting rid of all that extra responsibility should be a relief." Chakotay commented.

"No, I think that he likes having her. She is the only person that has ever totally trusted him. Even now, after all these years, most of the crew still has doubts about him but not her. When I went flying with them, I had the feeling that Tom was a natural parent." 

"A natural parent? He has to have had one of the worst examples of parenting when he was a kid." Chakotay was instantly sorry about that remark. He had forgotten just how different Janeway's experience with Admiral Paris was from his own son's. Wonderful to her but the Admiral had totally failed Tom at every important juncture in his life. 

When Chakotay had been given access to the personal files, he had been unable to resist the temptation to take just a peek at the prison psychologists report that laid so innocently in Tom's personal file. It had been misfiled; it was to be in his medical file not personal file. It was an eye opener, The report clearly stated "Extreme psychological abused with some remaining signs of physical abuse." It also hinted that the present of the Admiral thought out the investigation of the shuttle accident was the likely the underlying psychological reason behind Tom falsifying his report. His father's demands for perfection were so prominent thought out his life that Tom could not help be respond to the pressure. It also called him, "direction less," "reckless," and "unable to trust himself." The same report also slammed Starfleet for not investigating all of the circumstances of the crash and it repercussions, they had protected the abuser rather than look for the truth. The report also stated that Tom has joined the Marque simply because they would let him fly, the only activity that he felt justified his existence. He didn't think that Janeway had ever read that report. He hoped that she never did. It was now buried under 13 letters of commendation that he or Janeway had written when Tom had put his life on the line for a crew mate or the ship. He actually hoped that whoever was in charge of their homecoming would see the letters as proof that Tom had finally matured. Of course, if they did get back on their current schedule, Paris would be in his 80's and no one would care about an unfinished prison sentence.

Before she could think of an answer, Tuvok called her to the bridge. 

"Report." She called as she entered the bridge with Chakotay right behind her.

"We are being hailed but a Doriaian vessel. They are offering to render aide and assistance. They are approaching at warp 5." Tuvok reported.

"Are their weapons powered?"

"Yes but they have only minimal shields. They are awaiting a reply."

"Hail them, Put it on the main viewer." The Captain ordered.

"This is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. May I ask why you are offering aide and assistance?" She decided to be blunt and up front, hoping that they would back down

"I am Rattizan of the Doriaian. We were told that your ship was experiencing medical problems." 

"No, a few crewmen are ills but my ship and crew are sound. I do have a question for you, why were components that we traded for wrapped in packing materials deliberately and systematically infected with an ability deadly virus?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about," the Doriaian was clearly lying. "If you are not in need of our help, We will be leaving." He cut the communications channel.

"Well, that was a quick battle," Tom quipped.

"Better words than energy weapons. Remember an enemy that uses biological or chemical weapons are basically cowards." The Captain reminded him. "Tuvok, you may stand down the preparations that we have made for the battle. We won't be needing them today."

"Yes, Captain."

***********

Tom and Harry were eating lunch when Lamont dropped off Naomi for the afternoon. Naomi was content to eat her lunch while the adult talked. 

When they were getting up to leave, Tom asked, "Do you want to go see you mom today?" He knew the answer but had put off asking until right before the visit, just in case something had come up and he couldn't take her.

"Yes, YES, YES!" She answered. Harry was watching this exchange and smiled. So much such joy from just thinking about seeing her mother.

"The plan is for us to go get you coloring stuff than go visit your mom. She is still sick but you can hug her now." Tom told her. He reached and picked her up. "Your mom may have to take a nap but that's all right, it's just that she's tired from being sick."

Tom and Naomi's arrival in sickbay was greeted with joy from Wildman and faint disapproval from the Doctor. Wildman sat on the floor talking with Naomi, but mostly listening to Naomi talk about her adventures with Uncle Tommy. She talked herself out and right into her afternoon nap.

Tom laid a blanket on the floor of the Doctors' office. He went over and picked up Naomi and transferred her to the blanket. He quietly left the room, ordered the lights to 50 percent and closed the door.

"Mr. Paris, where am I to work now that you have turned my office into a nursery?" The Doctor asked, trying to sound annoyed but failing. When Paris had first brought Naomi in, he thought that the child would wear out the mother but she didn't. The doctor had over heard part of Naomi great adventure and was amazed that Paris had done such a good job taking care of her. Even when he was tired he still provided more love and attention than most parents would have under similar circumstance.

"Try the work station over on the wall, Doc. It's not as nice as your office but than, you don't want a cranky child running around, do you? Waking her up from her nap is a sure way to get an unhappy kid." Tom told him as he returned to his work of restocking the supply cabinet. With everyone improving, Tom had very little patient care to do.

Tom and Naomi left sickbay at 1600 when Tom's duty shift was over. 

"Are we going to have a picnic tonight?" Naomi asked.

"No, just dinner with Uncle Harry and Aunt B'Elanna in the mess hall." Tom answered.

"Do you like Aunt B'Elanna?" She asked innocently.

"Yes . . . Why?"

"Cause if you like her a whole lot than you can make me a playmate." Naomi answered as Tom blushed.

"That's not quit how it works. I promise that some day you will have playmates but not right away. Do me a favor, don't say anything about this to Aunt B'Elanna." 

"Okay."

Dinner and the nighttime ritual went well. Naomi remembered not to ask about playmates which Tom was grateful for, he was sure that she would slip up later but not tonight. His relationship with B'Elanna was improving and deepening but discussing having children was still months away. He didn't want her to feel pressured by Naomi remarks. He was back to his drug book before 2030. 

Day 6

Tom had the day off so he didn't set the alarm. Naomi was playing fort with her dolls in the living area when he awakened. Tom had sleep in until 0715 and his quarters were a disaster area but he did appreciate the extra sleep. He took a shower and dressed while she played. Getting her dressed was a much harder task. She was too involved with her play to want to cooperate. Promises that she could come back to it after breakfast was not reassuring to her. The promise of breakfast and visiting her mom worked. Tom knew this was a form of bribery but everyone needed a little bribery every now and then. 

B'Elanna was working this morning but Harry also had the day off. They meet him at breakfast.

"What are you going to do today?" Harry asked.

"I don't know yet. Why?" 

"I've been working on a holodeck program. It's a mountain training area that Tuvok asked me to write. No characters, but I would really like your input," Harry explained.

"When are you going to run it?"

"I have the holodeck reserved from 0900 to 1200. Can you come?"

"Sure, We love to come." Tom told him

"Are you sure that you want to bring her along on a physical fitness trek?"

"Yes, When she gets tired of walking, you get to carry her. Just think of her as a wriggling field pack." Tom laughed. He turned his attention to Naomi, "Are you done?"

She nodded. 

They left the mess hall and went to the holodeck. Harry called up a program and they went in. The mountains were in full bloom with wild flowers and bird songs. Naomi ran in, "Can I pick some flowers for mommy?"

"Naomi, you know that only the stuff that you bring into the holodeck can be taken out of the holodeck. You can pick the flowers but we can't take them to your mom. How about you look at them really hard and tell her all about them." Tom suggested.

Naomi played in the meadow while Tom and Harry discussed changes to the program. Naomi walked up to Harry and held up her arms in the universal sign of children to be picked up. 

Harry picked her up. "Are those the flowers that you want to tell your mom about?"

"Uh Ha. I like the little grapuple ones."

"Grapuple?"

"Those, they look like grape juice and Neelix said that it was 'urple." She smiled and continued to play with her flowers as Tom and Harry started to walk toward the mountains. Less than a half hour later, Harry was breathing hard form carrying Naomi extra weight.

"Now I know what you mean about the moving field pack. She can't be more than 20 pounds but the constant moving makes her harder to carry than the packs we had at the academy. You take her a while." Harry quickly moved her over before Tom could object.

"Fine, she can walk you know."

"Up these paths?" Harry objected, half worried about the steep climb and half wanting Tom to have to work up a sweat carrying Naomi. After all, he was the one that was suppose to take care of her, the 'chief baby sitter" as Chakotay had quipped two mornings ago while he and the Captain had been setting in their stations. Chakotay had been telling the Captain why he was late for his shift, hair brushing, Naomi trying to con him into not making her wear shoes. He had even told how Paris had slept thru what had eventually became a loud argument over wearing shoes, at least on Naomi part.

Naomi hugged Tom neck and started asking question about the trees. "How tall were they? Why are they green? What makes them stand up? Do they fall down?" and many, many more. Answering all those questions pushed the limits of Tom's knowledge of botany. Tom moved Naomi from this arms to his shoulders for the last half hour.

The trail gradually became steeper and steeper. Tom was in better cardiac condition than Harry so he wasn't huffing and puffing at the top of the climb but he was more than willing to call for the arch rather than carrying Naomi back down the incline.

When the arch appeared, Naomi happily skipped thru. Happy chattering about the flowers she was going to tell her mom about. Lunch was a nice recognizable meal of vegetable soup, he could see and identify all the ingredients on sight. Harry eat and quickly excused himself to go practice his clarinet. He had too much of the little girls constant chatter. 

Tom took Naomi to sickbay to visit her mom. Naomi's talking herself to sleep was not a shock. 

"Tom, exactly where did you take her on this nature walk of yours?" Sam Wildman demand as she held Naomi in her arms.

"It was a program of Harry's. I think that it was of the Scottish Highlands, lots of purple heather." Tom answered.

"I'll have to ask Harry about that program. She was very impressed with the trees."

Tom reached over and took Naomi. "She liked having both me and Harry at her beck and call. When do you get out of here tomorrow?"

"I don't know." She answered, then turned and called, "Doc."

"Yes?"

"When do I get out of here?" 

"If you are good and spend the rest of today resting, I'll let you out a lunch tomorrow." The Doctor answered. "Oh, get a baby sitter for tomorrow afternoon. She's too active for you to take care of a lone." 

"I'll tell Neelix. He still has to get someone for tomorrow morning. I have bridge duty all day."

"Go and put her down for her nap. Thanks for taking care of her."

*************

Tom spent a quiet afternoon writing his medical report. The doctor wrote the official Chief Medical Officer report but Tom had to write his part of the investigation and including his trip into the land of bio-hazard also known as cargo bay "C." He had five days to write about so the report was a bit longer than unusual. He knew that writing the report was a waste of time. After all, no one ever read them any way.

Naomi spent the afternoon building a fort between the couch and coffee table out of bedding, cushions and stuffed animals. She invited him in but he was just a little too big to fit. At 1615, Tom called an end to games and for clean up. Tom turned in his report and then they meet B'Elanna at the mess hall for dinner.

The nighttime ritual was over by 1945. 

"Naomi goes back to her moms at lunch time tomorrow." Tom stated, "What time do you get off?"

"1600. Why? You have some big plans?" B'Elanna asked.

"How would you like a private dinner?"

"In my quarters? Say at 1900?"

Tom smiled, he did have big plans, and they included kissing B'Elanna until he couldn't think straight. "I would love to come." She kissed him and left. Tom spent the rest of the evening reading the newest book that the doctor had given him, "Introduction to Child Development and Pediatrics Medicine." It was interesting to read about how children development and comparing Naomi to what was in the book.

Day 7

The alarm sounded at 0600 and Tom wake Naomi. They got ready for the day and then packed Naomi's clothes and toys to be taken back to the Wildman quarters at lunch time. When the sleeping bag was rolled and stored, the living room looked bare. 

They meet Williams, this mornings babysitter at breakfast. She had a morning of sand castle building planned. Tom reported for his bridge shift on time and having eaten a complete breakfast. He had finally figured out time management and she was leaving.

~~~~~~~~

Before the morning meeting, Chakotay handed Janeway, Tom's report. "You might find it interesting. I think that he left a lot of the past weeks events out. It's up to you if you want him to rewrite it. I think a few additions would be in order but that is up to you." 

"What is it?"

"Tom's report. This report has some major differences from the CMO's." 

The captain read Tom's report and she was amazed. It was less than ten pages long, most of it was dedicated to the sample collecting in cargo bay "C." Naomi was only mentioned on two occasions, the first day when he informing her of her mother's illness and then on the night that he worked in sickbay until 0330. He only put in that he had needed a sitter and the captain had volunteered or been drafted, he wasn't sure. Nothing about how he had rearranged his life to fit in a child. Nothing about his inspired observation that a weapon likely needed a mixture of standard decontamination chemicals to destroy it. That makes it hard for the victim to clean but easy for the creator to clean. 

He had minimized his own role in the events. The captain had also noticed the titles of the books that he had stacked on the coffee table in his quarters the night she sat for Naomi, all were serous medical texts. Tom may think that he is only the doctor's assistant but according to the Doctors reports, Tom had gaining knowledge and experience to the point that he can handle all of the everyday medical needs of the crew. He still had work to do in the sugary area but the doctor was reluctant to start that area of his training yet, fearing that Tom would refuse further training.

She looked up from the report to Chakotay, "I'll deal with this, and he will rewrite it. He left out his part in every thing but the sample collection. Sometimes, I don't understand him. Always announcing to the universe that he is the greatest pilot but taking no credit for anything else that he does, including putting his life on the line for the ship. Do you remember the report that he wrote after the Janus incident?"

Chakotay shock his head, he had just glanced at it because of all the other problems that were going on at the time. "No" he answered.

Janeway laughed, "It took seven pages to out line the sequence of events and for his personal comments about what happened, he said 'I did it to keep the crew safe.' That's it. I made him rewrite it twice and both times he came back with a more detailed sequence of events but nothing about the real dangers that he was in. It almost as if his own well being was not a major concern of his."

"You never have to worry that he'll try to take credit for the work of others," Chakotay commented, "He barely takes credit for what he does."

"No, I have to worry about others taking credit for his work except of course when we are taking about flying." Janeway stated. She glanced over at the clock, "We have better go to the staff meeting, We don't want to set a bad example by being late."

The meeting was short, the immediate danger was over and the ship had sustained no damage. All the crewmen expect Vorik were to be released to their quarters after lunch with three further days off and orders to rest. Vorik needed several more days of close medical supervision due to his extensive lung involvement. 

Janeway dismissed everyone but Paris. She slid the padd with his report in at him. He glanced at with an uneasy feeling, like the feeling he used to get when his English teacher returned his assignment.

"That report is inadequate," Janeway stated.

"I made sure that it had the details related to Cargo bay "C" in it." Tom stated, hoping that she would let it drop.

"Yes, it did. But nothing about Naomi staying with you, your part in discovering the treatment for the virus or even about your 20 plus hour day. You left out a lot, modesty is one thing but you need to be more accurate about your level of participation." The Captain stated. "Rewrite the report, this time put in everything."

"That's all in the CMO report, why should I take up your time with a report that is just another version of the CMO's?"

"You are not getting out of it. Rewrite it and be sure to put in all of your activities in sickbay and babysitting." The captain stated in her command voice. "Dismissed."

Tom knew why she had dismissed him then, so he wouldn't try to talk her out of the rewrite. He got up to leave and just as he got to the door, she called, "I volunteered to sit for you."

"Yes, Ma'am, I will note that in my report," was his only come back to her statement.

~~~~~~~~

Lunch was just as hard as he thought that it would be. Delivering Naomi's things to her quarters was hard, she would no longer be a daily part of his life. He would have her a few hours every week but that seemed so short of time compared to living with her. 

The afternoon went smoothly. Tom was quieter than normal.

Harry was waiting for him at the trubolift after their shift, "Looking forward to some kid free time?"

Tom half smiled, "I'm looking forward to spending more time with B'Elanna but I really did get use to having Naomi around all the time."

"I was thinking of shooting some pool before dinner." Harry suggested, trying to cheer up Tom. 

"Sure, I don't have to be anywhere until 1800." His date with B'Elanna wasn't until 1900 but he wanted an hour to get ready.

The games got his mind off the days events. He didn't lose any replicator credits but he didn't win any either. He left at 1800 to get ready with his date with B'Elanna.

While dressing for Dinner he started a personal log entry.

Stardate: -----

Naomi returned to her mother's quarters at noon today. The living area looks bare without her toys and bedding.

I hate to admit just how much I liked having someone to come home to every night. If I had larger quarters and B'Elanna could have spent some of her evenings with me, I would have no complaints about this last week. B'Elanna seemed to have the makings of a good mother. She put up with Naomi's tricks without losing her temper.

This last week has been giving me ideas about parenthood and B'Elanna . . . 

Just then his combadge chirped, "Wildman to Paris."

"End log entry." He than reached up and tapped his combadge. "Paris here."

"Could you please stop by? Naomi refuses to go bed without a goodnight kiss from Uncle Tommy."

"Sure. I'll be there in a few minutes." Tom replied and closed the link. He checked himself out in the mirror, everything was in place for his date. First Naomi, then B'Elanna, sounded like a nice evening. 

"Computer, lights out." Tom called as he left.

The end.


End file.
